Beijing China...Blah!

Well here we are on Beijing. We flew out of HK around 9 pm and do not get to the hotel until about 11:30. We have a few high school visits, which were not fruitfull for me. In the hotel we have a large college fair where I guess 700 people have registered. What happens next was not fun. All of us had to do individual interviews with an educational consulting agency who was at the fair. None of us knew what to expect so we just went with the flow. Our group was first....love being the first in the alphabet!! Anyway, we start the interview very late. Good thing one of the ladies in my group was chinese so she was able to work with the translator and get our questions before the interview. Basically they wanted to know if we send any students abroad and if we have any opportunites for university students to come to our universities to study for a year. We start the interview and there are TONS of pictures being taken. The interview went well, but it was very chaotic so I wasnt sure if it really did go well. I have a translator for the fair which was great. She was a very sweet girl who is attending university in China. The fair was 3 hours and again I had to withhold materials b/c it was basically a grab fest. I needed material for the rest of my visits so I had a lot of inquiry cards being filled out. A LOT of grad questions so hopefully we will see something! We go into Shanghai after one night in Beijing and we stay in a very European area..it was very nice. I was standing outside when I noticed a lot of women walking around...oh, have I talked about the dress?? Chinese women dress to the nines and look great..however, we were in prostitute district..and Im not kidding. Many american men are walking around with their "dates" and it makes you sick. I guess a few of the guys on the tour left a couple bars because they were being approached by "hookers" and it just wasnt on their agenda!! We have two nights in Shanghai and the visits and fair were not as expected. I didnt not have a translator for this fair so it was difficult, but really no interest in AU. I just know for next year...not doing this fair! This week was so intense with visits, fairs, early morning flights, late night arrivals that I am looking foward to the weekend. China can stay where it is, I do not like the country but we do very well in terms of students, so I will be back next year. We fly out for Seoul and I am definately looking foward to it!

As you are reading this, please ignore the spelling...I am still not caught up on sleep and its 5 days into the tour....looking foward to a little rest this weekend.

Peace!!